The Hell Chapter
by Amira77
Summary: Addie gets to live through The Hell Chapter. Let's see how will this will turn out.
1. Chapter 1

The sky was starting to turn a light orange as the sun started to set over the horizon. We were on our way home when Ichigo suddenly stopped and stared up at the sky. I looked at him then at the sky. I was going to ask him what he was looking at but someone beat me to it.

"Hey you, what are you lookin at?"

"Huh?" Ichigo and I said as we turned to face three 'thugs.'

"What's your problem? Don't look down on us." The one with blond hair and a maroon colored hat said.

"... How very... stylish..." I thought as I looked at the three. One of them was fat and had on a brown cap with some weird lookin chain around their neck, then there was the one with the blond hair and the maroon cap and finally, the guy that looked like he was from a reggae band.

"What's wrong?" The guy with the brown cap asked as he got in Ichigo's face. "Say something-" He said as he tried to throw a punch at Ichigo but, Ichigo being Ichigo, kicked him in the face.

"Nice one." I said as the guy fell to the ground.

"Hey... this guy looks dangerous." The reggae guy said.

"Yeah..." The blonde responded.

"Dangerous? This guy?" I said while pointing at Ichigo. "Pfft."

Ichigo ignored my comment and proceeded to step on the guy that he kicked down earlier.

"All of you, look at that." He said as he pointed at a basket that was knocked down, a few flowers spilling out. "What do you think that is?" Neither of them answered. "One of you, answer me!"

The two 'thug's panicked a bit before they responded.

"Uhm... they were put out for a kid that died here recently." The blond stammered.

"Correct!" Ichigo said as he kicked the blond in the face. The other guy fell to his knees in defeat and fear.

_"So much for the thug life._" I thought with a giggle.

"Then, why has it fallen over?" Ichigo demanded.

"Because we kicked it down for fun..." The reggae guy said.

"Correct! Well then, you have to apologize to this kid here." Ichigo said as he put his hand on top of the spirit boy's head. The fat guy was now crawling over to the other two while he spoke.

"_Uhm... he is aware that they can't see him, right?"_ I thought as I looked at the spirit then to the 'thugs'.

"Kid?" They said as they blinked in unison and looked at the empty space where the spirit was. "Uhm..."

"Just apologize!" Ichigo demanded.

"We're very sorry! Please forgive us!" They said as they bowed down in fear.

_"Haha, idiots."_ I thought as snickered at them.

Ichigo stomped his foot and the three all stumbled to their feet and ran away.

"Suckers." I said as I stood beside Ichigo.

"Thank you." The little spirit boy said.

"It's okay now." Ichigo said as he walked over to the knocked over basked.

"Yup! Strawberry took care of the 'thugs'." I said cheerfully.

Ichigo ignored my comment. "You were scared, right?" He said as he began to put the flowers back in the basket. "To think they would do this to the flowers from your mom and dad."

"They should be ashamed of themselves." I said while nodding my head.

"You could tell?" The spirit boy asked.

"Yeah, they must have loved you a lot." Ichigo said. "That's why you can't leave here, right?" He asked as he turned to him.

I ruffled the spirit's hair. "Now, we can't have you staying here forever."

"Am I going to hell?" The spirit asked.

"Of course not, but your mom and dad won't be able to find peace." Ichigo said.

"Yeah, besides this place is no fun." I added.

"I see." The boy said with a nod.

"So you need to rest in peace, and go to Soul Society." Ichigo said.

"I understand! I just want to see mama and papa's face one more time, and I'll be off." The boy said happily.

Ichigo smiled and put his fist up for a fist bump. The boy looked at Ichigo's fist then at his own.

"Like this, silly." I said as I fist bumped myself. Ichigo fistbumbed the kid and soon afterwards he disappeared.

"You know, I'll never get used to this side of you." I said as Ichigo stood up.

"What do you mean?" He asked as we started to walk again.

"Well, you're usually like 'blarg, imma eat your soul!' or 'blarg, imma kill you!' You know something along those lines." I said with a shrug.

"Whatever." He said as he rolled his eyes.

"Good morning, Ichigo!" Isshin said as he attacked Ichigo, who was walking into the dining room.

"Shut up!" Ichigo said as he hit his dad with his bag, sending him into the wall. "Sheesh."

"You have improved, my son." Isshin said as he stood up. "But why did you repel my attack, instead of taking it head-on?" He asked as he pointed at Ichigo.

"Oh, great, they're at it again." I thought with a sigh.

"At this rate, we won't be able to bond as men!" Isshin said as he took a stance. "One more time!" He said and lunged himself at Ichigo.

"Cut it out!" Ichigo said and stopped Isshin with a foot to the face.

"Here you go, Onii-chan." Yuzu said as she passed Ichigo a bowl of soup.

"Thank you, Yuzu." Ichigo said as he took the bowl and sat down.

"Wonderful sparring match." I said as I took a sip of my tea. "I give it a five out ten."

"You need to eat soon too, dad, or you'll be late." Yuzu scolded.

"Does dad have somewhere to go?" Ichigo asked.

"He has an overnight academic meeting." Karin said.

"It might be heartbreaking, but I'll make sure to bring you a souvenir." Isshin said as he put his hat on.

"OH! OH! Bring me cookies!" I said as I waved my hand in the air.

He nodded to me in recognition. "Ichigo, take care of your sisters, and Addie, okay?" He said and gave him a thumbs up.

"I can take care of myself." I said.

"Of course you can." Ichigo said.

"I'll be back soon, mom!" Isshin said as he tackled the poster on the wall of Ichigo's mom.

"Stop calling her that, already." Ichigo said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Well then, I'll be off!" Isshin said and saluted us before going out the door while humming randomly.

"Have a safe trip!" Yuzu said as she stood up.

"Make sure you bring me cookies!" I said as he closed the door.

"Onii-chan, what do you want for dinner?" Yuzu asked.

"Huh?" Ichigo said.

"Since dad won't be around, I'll make something you like." Yuzu said with a smile.

"Anything is fine." Ichigo said with a shrug.

"Aw, jeez." Yuzu said disappointedly.

"Ichi-nii, just accept her offer and request something." Karin scolded.

"Yeah! It's not everyday that your dad decides to disappear off the face of the earth!" I pitched in.

"I see. In that case... curry will be fine." He said.

"Eh? That's the same as usual!" Yuzu complained.

"I like your curry." I said.

"I'm fine with curry too." Karin said.

"Huh? I can make more complicated stuff too!" Yuzu said.

"I know you can, but your curry is so awesome that I want to eat it." Karin said.

I giggled at the two younger girls and Ichigo just smiled, which still surprises me. He can smile, amazing right? After that we argued about what Yuzu would make, in the end, it was curry.

"Well, we're off!" I said as I slipped my shoes on.

"You guys take care." Ichigo said as we walked out the door.

"Bye Onii-chan! Bye Addie-chan!" Yuzu and Karin said.

I waved as the door closed and skipped to catch up to Ichigo.

"So, what did you sophomores have to do for homework?" I said with a smirk.

Ichigo sighed. "You're still a sophomore, even if you don't look like it."

"Yeah, yeah." I said and waved off his comment. "I'm a senior, I don't know what you're talking about."

Ichigo shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"The same thing as always!" I chimed as I jumped on his back. "Onward!"

"No." He said and shrugged me off.

I sighed dramatically. "You're no fun, strawberry."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, come on, I want to stop at the store." He said as he sped up a bit.

"The store?" I asked. "What for?"

"I want to get some flowers for that kid." He said.

"Aw, look at Ichigo being nice." I said and pinched his cheek. "It's so adorable."

"Ow, stop that." He said and slapped my hand away.

"Le gasp! You slapped me!" I said and clutched my hand to my chest. "Whatever shall I do?"

"You can shut up." He said bluntly.

"Well, then, maybe I will." I said and puffed my cheeks out.

"Good." He replied.

We walked down to the store, where Ichigo bought some flowers. Afterwards we headed down to where we were the day before.

"Hmm? I wonder where he went." Ichigo said as he placed the flowers in the basket.

"Maybe, he move on on his own." I said with a shrug.

"Maybe." Ichigo replied.

"Ichigo! Enalide." Rukia said.

We both turned our attention to the two shinigami.

"Rukia! Renji!" Ichigo said.

"Yo!" Renji said as he saluted us.

"When did you guys get here?" Ichigo asked.

"Just recently." Rukia said.

"You should have let me know that you were coming."

"Yeah, I would've made cake or something." I said.

"Sorry, about that, it was a bit sudden. Besides, what are you guys doing here?" She asked.

"Memorializing." I said with a smile. "I think that's the word I want to use..."

"Well, I thought about leaving some flowers for a spirit that was supposed to be here." Ichigo said as he lightly scratched his cheek. "But it looks like he passed on by himself already."

"What the hell are you doing?" Renji asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Helping the lost souls of this town to rest in peace is supposed to be your job." Renji scolded. "And yet you lost sight of him? If he ends up becoming a Hollow, it's your fault." He said and walked over to Ichigo.

I walked over to Rukia, who was taking a calming breath.

"Here we go again." I said.

"Huh? Since when did it become my job?" Ichigo asked rather annoyed. "It's something that you Shinigami are supposed to do."

"This is true." I commented.

"I'm just a Substitute Shinigami." Ichigo continued.

"What was that?" Renji said as the clashed heads.

"I have my money on STrawberry!" I said and fist pumped the air.

"You wanna go?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia stepped in between then pushed them apart by their foreheads. "Enough! You fools!" The two of them fell on their backs. "You two never change."

"Idiots aren't capable of evolution." I snickered.

"What was that?" Ichigo challenged.

"Nothing~" I chimed.

"We didn't come to Karakura Town to play around!" Rukia scolded as Renji sat up and rubbed his head.

"I know. The mission comes first, right?" Renji said.

"A mission? What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"It's not something we need your help for." Rukia said as she looked over at Ichigo.

"But it has something to do with this place, right?"

"Besides, it's not like we'll tell the whole world about it." I said.

"I said it's fine, right?" Rukia said. "Nii-sama told me to not let you stick your nose in our business too much."

I snickered. "You just got called nosey."

"Damn that Byakuya." Ichigo said under his breath.

"Well, that's how it is. If I find that lost soul, I'll send it onward myself." Renji said.

"Make sure you fist bump it!" I said as they started to walk away.

"Just concentrate on studying." Rukia said.

"Fine!" Ichigo said. We turned and continued our way to school.

"Hehe, you totally just got rejected." I snickered.

"Shut up." Ichigo scowled.

"Haha, you got rejected. No one loves you!" I sang.

"I said shut up!" He said and hit me upside the head.

"Ow!" I whined as I grabbed my head. "Why'd you do that?!" I said and glared at him.

"Maybe next time you'll listen when I say shut up."

"Whatever, your just mad cause you got rejected." I said as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Why you." He said as he got ready to hit me again. I glared at him and poked his side before he could hit me.

"No, no, no, not in my house." I said as I wagged my finger.

He glared at me and that was my cue to start running. I almost died a few thousand times. Mostly while turning the corners. How I managed to outrun Ichigo is a mystery to me but I did it. I ran past the school gates and tackled Orihime.

"Orihime, save me!" I cried.

"What? Why?" She asked as we stood up.

"Ichigo wants to kill me!"

"There you are!" Ichigo said as he picked me up by the back of my shirt.

"Mur!" I said as my feet were lifted off the ground. "Taco! Help me!" I begged. Chad only held his hands up in surrender. "Gah, you're so useless!"

"Now, who's the one being rejected?" Ichigo said while glaring at me.

"I don't get rejected! I just don't... uhm... okay, whatever." I growled in defeat. With that said, Ichigo proceeded to let me back on the ground. "So much for taking care of me." I said as I fixed my shirt. "Imma be telling your dad about this!"

"Whatever." Ichigo said as he headed towards the school building. "Come on we're going to be late."

There was a strong gust of wind and we stopped in our tracks. Then we heard the sound of metal shaking. We all looked up at the metal platforms that were on the front of the school building. They were probably used for window washing or something. They broke apart and started falling. There was screaming and people scrambled to safety. I noticed a girl trip in the midst of the chaos and so did Chad. A slab of metal, several of them actually, were about to crush her. Luckily, she was saved by Chad. We all sighed in relief but quickly went over to make sure they were okay.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I helped the girl up.

She nodded. "T-thank you." She said and bowed.

"Sado-kun, are you okay?" Orihime asked.

"Yeah." He responded.

"Let's head inside before anything else happens." Ichigo said.

There were three bells that rang throughout the school.

"Ah, flip, Imma be late." I said. "Well, I'll see you guys later." I saluted them and took off.

"I don't feel any reiatsu out of the ordinary." Chad said.

We were standing outside investigating the scene from earlier. By now the sky has turned a pinkish color.

"I could've told you that." I said with a sigh.

"The way it's broken is kinda weird though." Ichigo said.

"Does this mean it was a natural occurrence?" Orihime asked.

"I doubt it." I said. "Things don't randomly break because of some wind."

"Addie's right but we can't say that for sure." Ishida said as his crouched down. His hand was surrounded by a light blue reiatsu and he hovered his hand over one of the metal slabs.

"You feel something?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah." Ishida replied."It's not much, but there's some residual reiatsu. I've never felt anything like it before, though."

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

"I don't know." Ishida said as he stood up. "It's not a Hollow or any other spirit..." He said as he adjusted his glasses. "Nor is it the work of a special human like you, Sado-kun, or Inoue-san." He said and placed a hand on his hip. "Then again, it's not the work of a Shinigami either."

"Then what exactly are we dealing with?" I asked.

"Who knows." Ishida replied.

"In any case, it seems that there's something going on." Ichigo said as he looked back up.

"Ya think?" I mumbled. Then suddenly the ground began to shake. "Earthquake?!"

"This is!" Ishida said. We all looked at the building and as it suddenly exploded. There was definitely reiatsu in that explosion. Ichigo stepped out his body and jumped up into one of the holes that was created, Ishida not too far behind. Orhime, Chad, and I, being the normal humans, ran up the stairs. The door had been blown away in the explosion so, we ran into the classroom.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime said as she spotted her friend.

"Pull yourself together!" Chad said as he shook Keigo. "Oi!" He said and checked for a response from Mizuiro. There was a spike in reiatsu that was coming from outside. Then the roof started break. Ichigo stood up and blocked an attack from someone or something in a black cloak.

"Kurosaki Ichigo!" It said as it held it's ground. He was fighting with a sword that seemed to be made up of purple reiatsu.

"You know my name?!" Ichigo asked. He glared at him before his sword began to coat itself in blue reiatsu. The thing in the black cloak jumped back. Ichigo threw a Getsuga Tenshou at it but it didn't budge. A split second afterwards Chad attacked it as well, causing a small explosion.

"Inoue, Addie, I'll leave Tatsuki and the others to you." Ichigo said.

"Wait!" I said but by then it was too late, he already left. "Dang it! What the flip am I supposed to do? I' ain't got no healing abilities." I growled.

"Addie-chan, you're a great help even if you don't have healing abilities." Orihime said.

I sighed and put my things down. "Yeah, yeah, that's what you always say." I said as I kneeled down beside Keigo and Mizuiro. Then realization struck me and I gasped. "The black cloaks, Rukia and Renji are here, the metal slabs falling, the little spirit boy... this is..." I looked over towards the hole in the wall. "The Hell Chapter..."

"Did you say something?" Orihime asked.

"This is bad." I said as I stood up.

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked worriedly.

I looked at her. "Yuzu and Karin are in trouble."

Her eyes widen the slightest bit and I dug in my bag. I pulled out the small mod-soul container and swallowed one of the candies.

"I can't go to Yuzu and Karin since Rukia is there..." I thought as I seperated from my body. "But I can warn Ichigo."

"Stay here with Orihime." I ordered the mod-soul in my body.

"Aye, aye, captain." They saluted.

I flashed stepped out the room and looked at the current situation. Chad and Ishida were recuperating from the last attack and Ichigo was fighting his current opponent. Although, he was soon kicked down but he managed to land safely.

"Ichigo." I said as I appeared beside him.

"What are you doing here?! I thought I told you stay with Orihime." He said.

"You're pathetic." The fatter of the three whined. "Hm? Who's that?" He said and pointed at me. "I don't remember seeing you."

"None ya business." I growled.

"Hmph, you want to continue?" He asked.

\"Howl! Zabimaru!" Renji said as his bankai attacked the thing.

"Aww... flip... I forgot about that..." I tried to hind behind Ichigo and was really hoping he wouldn't notice me.

"Renji!" Ichigo said.

"Are you okay, Ichigo?" Renji asked as his bankai wrapped around himself.

"Yeah, somehow." Ichigo said then glared back at me. "Get out of here." He mouthed.

"But..."

"Oh dear! A Shinigami showed up!" the fat one said. "What a pain!"

"Those guys..." Renji said.

"Do you know them?" Ichigo asked as he turned his attention back to Renji.

"Yeah. Looks like things have gotten a bit troublesome."

"Ya don't say." I mumbled to myself.

"Maybe you haven't noticed because of them, but a presence similar to theirs appeared earlier."

"What?" Ichigo said.

"It appeared at the Kurosaki Clinic... your home." Renji said. "Rukia went there by herself, but over there..."

"Yuzu and Karin are in danger!" Ichigo said.

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" I growled.

"Ichigo! Leave this place to us!" Renji said.

"Okay!" Ichigo said.

"Don't leave me here!" I said and followed behind him before Renji could even ask anything.

"Where do you think you're going?" The fat one said but was intercepted by Ishida's arrows.

I saluted Ishida "We owe you one!" With that we hurried off to Ichigo's home.

"Why didn't you tell me that Yuzu and Karin were in danger?!" Ichigo demanded.

"Because you wouldn't listen! You should learn to shut up sometimes and let others talk!" I said.

"Tch." He growled and sped up. "You stay out of this, Rukia can't see you. Renji probably already noticed you."

"Then I might as well let Rukia see!" I said.

"No, go back, now." He said.

I let out an aggravated sigh. "Fine!" I turned on my heels and headed back to the school. I masked my reiatsu as much as I could and managed to get back into the school building without being noticed.

"What happened?" Orihime asked as I stepped into my body.

"Everything." I said. "What about..." I stopped mid-sentence when I felt a huge spike in reiatsu. "What... is this?" I said as I ran over to the hole in the wall. There was a huge gust of wind and the sky started to flash green with lightning. My eyes wide as the skeleton gates emerged from the sky. "No way... those are the Gates of Hell." I said as the man was dragged into the gates, a huge sword emerging from it. The man started to beg for his life but we all knew that it was too late for him. He disintegrated once he touched the sword. The gates closed and everything went back to normal.

"Time to retreat." The fat one said.

"Wait!" Ishida said as he shot his arrows at them but by then it was too late, they were gone.

"I can't believe it... this is really The Hell Chapter." I thought as I stared at the space where the gates once were.

"Addie-chan?" Orihime said as she snapped me out my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine but we have to get to Ichigo, fast." I said.

She nodded her head.

"Are you guys okay?" Ishida asked as he came into the room.

"We should be the ones asking that." I said. "Anyway, we have to Ichigo! Yuzu and Karin are in trouble."

"How did you know?" Renji asked.

"I heard you, you're loud." I said with a shrug really hoping that he wouldn't see through my lie.

"Wasn't there someone else here earlier?" Renji asked.

"Nope, I have no idea what you're talking about." I said with a shrug. "Anyway, come on! We have to go!" I said.

"She's right, let's go." Renji said and flashed stepped away.

"Inoue-san, Addie-san, stay here with the others and take care of Ichigo's body, we'll be back." Ishida said as he disappeared.

"Again?" I said with a sigh. "Why do I feel so useless."

"Don't feel bad Addie-chan." Orihime said kindly.

"Yeah, I guess if it weren't for us, someone might have kidnapped Ichigo's body or something." I said trying to cheer myself up. Orihime giggled a bit. "I'll go get his body."

I stood beside Orihime as she healed Chad. We were now in the Kurosaki Clinic, it was well into the night and we were all planning out the next move.

"Who are you?" Rukia asked the man in the white robe. "That chain from earlier... that chain was from Hell."

"What?" Ishida said.

"Yeah, that's right. My name is Kokuto. I'm a sinner,as you can see." He said as he lifted his hand and let the chain on his wrist dangle a bit.

"You're the same as those guys wearing the black capes?" Renji asked.

"That's right."

Rukia stepped forward. "Why would a sinner help us?" She asked.

"Help you? That's not quite right." He said as he put a hand on his thigh and waved his other hand. "It's not like I'm on your side. I just can't stand those guys." He said with a shrug then returned his hand to his thigh.

"I don't give a damn about all that." Ichigo said. "If you are a sinner, you know how to get to Hell, right? In that case, take me to Hell!"

"Hm, cause that's completely normal." I thought as I mentally sighed.

"Otherwise Yuzu will..." Ichigo said and looked off the the side.

"She'll die." Kokuto said finishing Ichigo's sentence. Orihme gasped and clutched her hands over her chest. Ichigo's eyes considerably widen as well. "The environment of Hell is deadly to an ordinary person. If you don't hurry and save her, she'll die." He said as he shook his head. Ichigo glared at the ground. "You Shinigami have at least heard stories of what Hell is like, right?"

"Yes. Hell is... Souls that cannot go back to the place of their origin, Soul Society... That is, those who have committed great sins are taken there. Those who are taken to Hell are named as 'sinners' and are bound with chains, and the guardians force them to confront their sins, forever." She explained as she flipped through her sketch book, showing the respective drawings.

_"Way to lighten the mood... I suppose..."_ I thought.

"Well... not just anyone can endure Hell." Kokuto said as Rukia put up her sketch book. "You still want to go in spite of that?"

"Of course! I can't leave Yuzu in such a place by herself!" Ichigo said.

"I see. If you're ready for the consequences, I don't mind taking you there." Kokuto said as he stood up. "All I want to do is beat those guys from before. You look like you could help with that." He said with a smug smile.

"Why are you fighting them?" Renji asked.

"Like I said, I can't stand them." He said with hand on his hip. "If there's someone you don't like, eliminate them." he said and walked to Ichigo. "Hell is that kind of place."

"If you were taken to Hell, that means that you must have accumulated a few sins yourself." Rukia said.

"True, the things I did warrant me being taken to Hell." He said as he walked past Ichigo. "However, there are times when a person needs to embrace the darkness for the sake of the people they love." He said gracefully, up till the last part where his tone turned a bit dark. "Well then, let's get going to Hell." He chimed.

"Yeah." Ichigo said.

"Wait!" Renji said. "Ichigo, you're seriously planning on trusting a complete stranger like him?" He said and pointed at Kokuto.

"It doesn't matter if he's a stranger." Ichigo said firmly. "I'm going to get Yuzu do that, I need his help."

"Even if he's telling the truth," Renji said as grabbed Ichigo by the collar of his shirt. "Going there now would be playing right into the enemy's hands!"

"I know that! But I have no choice but to go!" Ichigo said and removed Renji's hand from his shirt.

"In that case, we will go with you." Rukia said, softly pushing Renji back a bit.

"Rukia..."

"Right then, get ready." Kokuto said. "I'll open the gate to Hell soon.

"Ichigo." I said, catching his attention. "Can I speak to you?" I asked and motioned towards the door.

"Yeah." He said. We walked out the room and out into the hallway. He leaned against the wall and I turned to face him. "No." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You don't even know what I was about to say!" I complained.

"You were going to ask to come with us, the answer is no." He said.

"But I can't just stay here while you guys are in Hell!" I said.

"Yes, you can and you will." He said sternly. "You heard him, Hell is a dangerous place."

"So?! I've been in plenty of dangerous situations. I can take care of myself!" I said.

"I didn't say that you couldn't." He said with a sigh.

"But you implied it!"

"Look, even if I did want you to come, you couldn't. Rukia and Renji are coming with me. You know what will happen if they find out." He said.

I sighed in defeat and looked off to my side. "I know but... I just feel so... useless."

"Look at me." He said as he put his hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him and he stared into my eyes. "You're not useless, not matter what anyone says or does, your not useless."

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess, I mean where your body be if I wasn't here?" I said with a chuckle.

He smiled and pat my head. "Probably in some bush or something."

"Ichigo." Rukia said as she came out into the hallway. "We're leaving."

"I'm coming." He said and nodded to Rukia. She nodded back and went back inside the room.

"Hey, small tip, don't lose control." I said.

"Lose control of what?" He asked.

"Your power." I said. "You're going to be in Hell so keep that Hollow of yours in check, kay?" I said. He nodded his head. "Pinky promise." I said and held out my pinky.

He chuckled. "Pinky promise." He said and locked his pinky with mine.

"Alrighty then, you should probably get going, you don't want to keep Yuzu waiting." I said and pushed him towards the door.

"Right." He said with determination.


	2. Chapter 2

I sighed and laid my head on the table. It's only been a few minutes since they left and I was honestly worried to the very core.

"Here, it'll calm you down." Orihime said as she placed a steaming cup of tea in front of me.

"Thanks." I said as I took the cup and took a small sip.

"You shouldn't worry so much." Orihime said as she sat down across from me. "Kurosaki-kun is strong."

I sighed. "I know." I said as I looked at the cup of tea. _"How can I be more worried than Orihime? I know the outcome of this, she doesn't. If this is how I am while knowing the outcome, I'd probably running into walls and flipping tables."_ I thought as I took another sip of tea. "How long do you think it'll be?" I asked as I leaned back in my chair.

"I don't know." She said as she looked out the window. "I just hope it isn't that long."

"Same here." I said. After that it became silent for a few minutes.

"I'll go check on Sado-kun." She said as she stood up.

"Okay, I think I'll go get some air." I said as I stood up as well. She nodded to me and headed back to the clinic. I went to the door and slipped my shoes on, then headed outside, a small breeze greeting me. I took in a deep breath and started walking. I really didn't know where I was going but not like it matters. I walked and walked and walked and walked till I found myself at the same place from earlier, where the spirit was. Basically, I walked through the entire town which took up a lot of time. I noticed that the basket had been knocked down again. I sighed and picked it up.

"Some people never learn." I said as I put the flowers back in the basket. "Well, I guess it's like I said earlier, idiots don't have the ability to evolve." I said and stood up.

"H-help me."

I turned on my heels to see the spirit from earlier, his chain was almost gone. My eyes widen, he had only about a five seconds left.

"I... don't... want to go to hell." He said as he turned into a Hollow.

"Damn it!" I growled as I reached for my pocket but I didn't have any pockets. I was still in my school uniform and the mod-soul container was in my bag, in the clinic. I jumped back as it lunged at me but it managed to get a hold of my leg.

"Fffffoooooooddddd." It mumbled as it held me upside down. There was a flash of black and next thing I know, I'm on the ground. I looked around and spotted Sydney.

"Sydney!" I said happily.

"Long time no talk." She said as she helped me up to my feet.

"Phew, I'm glad to see you." I said and wiped the sweat from my forehead. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"There's been some weird reiatsu activity going on." She said.

My eyes widen a bit. "Don't tell me..."

"What?" She asked.

"The Gates of Hell, they're going to break!" I said.

"How...?" She said.

"Onobanjo." Byakuya said as he appeared beside us.

"Captain!" She said and bowed.

"There's been a crack." He said.

My eyes widen. "Oh no... Ichigo..." I said softly. "We have to hurry or else!"

"We know." Sydney said.

"How do you know of the situation?" Byakuya asked.

"I told her."

Byakuya eyed her. "You know this was supposed to stay secret."

"It wasn't her fault! It slipped." I defended. "In any case, please take me with you." I said and bowed.

"No." Byakuya said.

"But!"

Sydney put her arm out and stopped me.

"Don't worry everything will be fine." She said with a reassuring smile.

I sighed. "I know that but still..."

"Onobanjo, let's go." Byakuya said and flashed stepped away. Sydney followed shortly and I was left alone. I closed my eyes and sensed the reiatsu in the area, there was definitely some strange reiatsu in the air but I also noticed the presence of other Shinigami. I opened my eyes and broke out in a run towards the other Shinigami.

_"This is bad, like really, really, bad."_ I thought as I turned a corner._ "Well, it's not like they won't fix it or anything but still! This is really, really, bad! But why am I worrying?! Gah! I'm so useless!"_ I thought as I turned another corner. _"Orihime probably already noticed the weird reiatsu and the reiatsu of the Captains but I can't go to the Captains, especially if Yamamoto is there.."_ I stopped in my tracks, panting heavily.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I said to myself. There was a huge spike in reiatsu and suddenly a huge amount of fire shot from out the sky along with a strong gust of wind. I brought my arms over my head in order to shield myself. That didn't keep my hair from slapping me in the face though. After a few seconds it disappeared. I put my arms down and looked up. "Oh no..." I said as I looked at The Gates of Hell, they were broken. The sun was starting to come up, so I couldn't tell if the sky was pink because of flames or because of the sun. I took off running as fast as I could, almost tripping several times in the process.

_"Damn it! I told him to keep his cool!"_ I thought as I turned a corner and sensed Ichigo's reiatsu on the roof of a building. I ran up the stairs and tripped a few times but I got right back up. I opened the door that led to the roof and saw Ichigo holding off Yuzu, trying to get away from a group of Shinigami.

"Ichi-"

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Yamamoto said cutting me off. My eyes widen and I went back inside but keeping the door opened, just enough so that I could watch.

"Jii-san." Ichigo said as Toshiro, Ukitake, Byakuya, and Rangiku with Orihime appeared behind the old man. Orihime rushed over to Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She said.

"Inoue!" Ichigo said. "Yuzu is... please save her!" Ichigo pleaded.

"Leave it to me." Orihime said. "Hang in there, Yuzu-chan!" She said as she activated her Santen Kesshun.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo said.

_"Oh flip, I'm screwed! What do I do?!"_ I thought.

"What is this?!" Orihime said and snapped me out my thoughts. I turned my attention to her barrier that was turning different colors and exploded. My eyes widen.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo said.

_"No way, did this really happen in the move?!"_ I thought.

"Why?" Orihime said as she turned Yuzu so that she was laying on her back. I heard the sound of a chain jingling.

"No, Yuzu..." I said as I noticed the chain coming from her chest.

"Inoue! Inoue, what's wrong?!" Ichigo demanded. "Please, do someth-"

"It's no use." Yamamoto said.

I bit my lip as I remembered this scene of the movie. "Ichigo..."

"That girl has already been bound by the chains of Hell, and has become one of them." Yamamoto said as he walked over towards Ichigo. "She cannot be brought back with our abilities."

"That... can't be." Ichigo mumbled.

"This is all your fault."

Ichigo started making incomprehensible sounds and brought his hand to his head. "Yuzu!" He cried out. He laid his head on her chest and cried in agony.

_"I can't stay here, I can't do this._" I thought. I cried during the movie and I'm crying now. I took off down the stairs.

The sun was setting again, after that morning I ran back to Ichigo's house and locked myself in his room. I was feeling depressed and I had no reason to.

_"Sheesh, I'm such a lamo."_ I thought as I stared out the window. _"I mean, I already know that she's not gonna die but even yet... it still hurts."_ I thought as I felt tears in my eyes. I shook my head and wiped the tears away. _"No, now is not the time to be crying. I'm sure Ichigo will be leaving soon and I'm going with him."_I thought as I stood up. _"No matter what he says."_ I went out his room and headed down the stairs but I heard Orihime and Ichigo talking so I decided to listen in on them.

"You must be tired." Ichigo said. "What something to drink?" He asked as he headed towards the kitchen

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said. "Are you going to go back there?"

"Yuzu was supposed to have been swallowed up by Hell, but she recovered.I'm sure Rukia and the others are not beyond help." He said as he stopped in his tracks.

"But if it happens again..." Orihime trailed off.

"I I go there and go on rampage as a hollow again, I might end up destroying the world. It's just as Jii-san said. However... I will not lose control again! He's strong. None of the others could hurt him. I can't say that I can beat him without using my hollowfication. But I have to win! If I don't, I can't face the others who entrusted me with their lives!"

Orihime hugged Ichigo from behind and I felt every living inch of me fill up with jealousy.

"Make sure... make sure you come back." She said softly.

"Yeah, I'll be back." Ichigo said.

"You bet you will." I said as I revealed my presence.

"Addie?" Ichigo said as he turned to face me. Orihime let go of Ichigo and looked off to the side.

"Sups." I said as I walked over to them.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Orihime asked.

"Of course I was." I said with a shrug. "Anyway, you are aware that I'm coming along with you."

"No, you're staying-"

"Like hell I am." I said and pulled his ear. "I'll say this once and once only."

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"I'm coming with you!" I yelled into his ear.

"Ow!" He said as he pulled away from me.

"That being said." I said and took the mod-soul container from the pocket of the pants I changed into earlier. I swallowed the pill and stepped out into my Shinigami body. I wrapped the blue scarf around my face so that only my eyes were showing. "Problem solved, almost, but close enough." I said with a shrug.

He smiled and shook his head. "Alright."

We waited till the sunset and destroyed the barrier surrounding the house. We then headed to where The Gates of Hell were. The Kido squad was there repairing it and Ukitake and Toshiro were also there. Ichigo stood in front of them and I stayed hidden, he would give me the signal.

"Kurosaki, do you intend to take revenge?" Toshiro asked as he put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Ichigo didn't respond.

"If that is the case, we definitely can't let you go." Ukitake said as he also put his hand on the hilt of his sword. "If you lose control again, this time..."

"Bankai." He said nonchalantly. "I'm going to rescue my friends."

_"That's the signal._" I thought.

"Kurosaki." Toshiro said but he turned around when the gates started to pulse. "What is it this time?" A hand emerged from the gates and the guardian began to come out.

_"Lovely._" I thought.

"Dense formation. Don't let the Kushannard enter the Real World!" Ukitake ordered. Ichigo nodded to me. I flashed stepped beside him and we headed towards the gates.

"Ichigo!" Rangiku said.

"Don't get left behind." Ichigo said as Byakuya's petals hit the Kushannard.

"Heh, don't worry about me." I said with a smirk. We plunged straight down, the hands of the Kushannard's just barely missing us. We past the first layer and dived into the water and soon we were out of that too.

"Get ready." Ichigo said.

"I was born ready!" I replied. We headed towards an area of lava and fire. There was a dead tree and giant skull on an island that was surrounded by lava. We landed swiftly and silently.

"Ichigo! I was planning on coming to get you, but it's nice of you to come of your own will." Kokuto said then spotted me. "And then you brought some help." He said from the top of the skull. "Are you here to take revenge for your sister?"

"Yuzu is fine." Ichigo replied.

"She wouldn't die that easily and by the hands of someone like you." I spat.

"Well, that's a surprise. So why did you come back?" Kokuto asked.

"I'm here to save my friends." Ichigo said and took an informal stance.

"We didn't come all the way here to come and see area here." I said motioning to Kokuto's face. "Ain't that pretty." I said and took my own stance.

"Save them? It seems that you still don't understand this have been captured by the chains of Hell. Look over there." He said and nodded towards the dead tree. I looked over to the tree and from the branches, Renji, and Ishida were hanging from their chains. "The men are still in the process of rotting. Don't panic." Kokuto said and pointed his sword at us. "The little Shinigami woman seems to be just about ready." He said and swung his sword to his a burst of flames appeared beside him and a glomp of lava emerged and from that lava, Rukia appeared. She was naked but soon afterwards a white robe appeared on her and a chain was on her chest.

"Ichigo... why..." She gasped in pain when Kokuto yanked her chain and pulled her towards him.

"Hell is pretty simple place to understand." He said as he lifted her off the ground."Once captured, people will be resurrected any number of times. As long as this chain isn't cut, they can never escape."

"In that case, all we have to do is cut that chain." Ichigo said.

"Doesn't sound too hard." I said with a smirk.

"That sounds promising. In that case, you'll cut my chains too, right?" Kokuto asked.

"Hell to the no." I said.

"We can't do that." Ichigo said as a circle of smoke surrounded him. "We're going to defeat you!" He said as he pointed his sword at Kokuto, the tip of his sword covered in the black and red reiatsu.

"I should probably go bankai." I said to myself as Ichigo flashed stepped to Kokuto and clashed swords with him. "Heh, Bankai!" I said. The dagger in my hand exploded and flames traveled up my arms. My dagger turned into a sword that kind of look like a giant sewing needle but it had a hilt made of flames. Kokuto jumped off the skull and I intercepted his attack. "Hey buddy." I said as I clashed swords with him.

"Tch, get out my way!" He said and pushed me back. I jumped away and Ichigo clashed swords with him and they started fighting in the tree. I watched and tried to find an opening. Kokuto moved out the way of Ichigo's attack and grabbed him by his neck and flew down towards the ground. "You fool. You seriously think you can beat me without putting on your mask?" He said and threw Ichigo at the ground.

"No, but two against one sounds pretty close." I said and clashed swords with Kokuto again.

"How naive!" He said as he moved back and came back at me and threw me into the skull.

"Gya!" I said as I collided with the skull.

"Addie!" Ichigo said.

"No matter how strong your feelings are," Kokuto said as he attacked Ichigo. "They won't be of any use in your current from!" He said and threw Ichigo off the edge.

"Ichigo!" I yelled.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled and the black and reiatsu shot up and destroyed part of the island. I jumped out the way of the attack.

"That's it!" Kokuto said as the chains clashed with the attack. Then he parried the attack and sent it into the tree.

"You... who are you?" Rukia asked as she looked up at me.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder." I said.

Ichigo landed back on the island, a few feet away from Kokuto. Ichigo was about to charge at him but stopped. His mask was trying to appear.

"Ichigo." Rukia said.

I looked at him in anticipation. _"Come on, you can fight it."_ I thought as he brought his hand to his head. He managed to pull it off but it tired it him out a bit.

"What's wrong?" Kokuto asked as he flashed stepped beside Ichigo. "What are you afraid of?" Ichigo tried to hit him but missed. Kokuto put a hand on his shoulder. "Is it that the self you don't know will destroy everything? If that is the case, you shouldn't have bothered coming here!" He said as he threw Ichigo like a rag doll.

"Ichigo!" I said and appeared beside Kokuto. "You!" I said and clashed swords with him. "Ha! If he can't beat what makes you think you can!" He said and pushed me back a bit.

"Keh, don't underestimate me!" I growled.

"Don't worry." He said as he sword lit up with a darkish blue reiatsu. "I won't!" He said and threw me back into the tree.

"Gah!" I yelled and fell to the ground. Sadly, he was right, I was useless. "D-damn it!" I said and hit the ground. The scarf slipped but I caught it before it would reveal anything.

"You sister was saved because you turned into that monster, right?" Kokuto said as he clashed swords with Ichigo. "Without that, you can't do anything!" He said as his sword lit up with the blue reiatsu. He threw Ichigo into the skull and I staggered to my feet in order to avoid the lava.

"I told you, right?" Kokuto said as he stepped on Ichigo. "Enforcing your will while experiencing everlasting despair. That's what 'hatred' means. The desire for revenge made me strong." He said and stepped on Ichigo's face. The ground beneath him breaking, lava spilling out from the cracks. "What's wrong?" He asked as the lava reached Ichigo's hand. Ichigo yelled in pain.

"Why you!" I yelled as I charged at him again. "Claw of the Phoenix!" I yelled as swung my sword. The lava around me bending to my will and attacking Kokuto. There was an explosion and I flashed stepped to Ichigo and tried to catch him. Didn't work out very well but it softened his landing, mine, not so much.

"Hate me more!" Kokuto said as he appeared a few yards away from us. His right hand on fire. "If you do that, you can get stronger too." The fire disappeared and showed the burned skin.

"Tch, as if." Growled as stood up and took a stance. Ichigo was in pretty bad shape so I was going to hold Kokuto up until Ichigo could stand.

"Didn't I already tell you." He said as he walked over to me. "You can't beat me!" He said and clashed swords with me.

"Says you!" I yelled and pushed him back. He pulled his sword back and kicked me in my stomach, sending me flying into one of the rocks.

"Addie!" Ichigo said.

Kokuto wasted no time and started to bash on Ichigo, he sent him flying but used his chain to pull Ichigo back and into the ground. Then he pierced Ichigo in the stomach, causing the ground to break and lava escape once more.

"Maybe I should go kidnap your sisters again, huh?" Kokuto said.

Ichigo's reiatsu spiked up and he was covered in the black and red reiatsu. The white of his eyes turned black. Soon after the white substance emerged from his chest.

"Ichigo! Don't do it! don't give in." I yelled as he tried to fight it off. Kokuto glared at me and decided to step on me. "Gya!" I yelled.

"That's it! you're doing fine! You already lost control once. It should be easy to do it again." Kokuto taunted Ichigo. He pressed his foot farther into my stomach and I heard something crack. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. "You can't separate yourself from that monster anyway. You can't do anything with feelings alone!"He said as Ichigo fell to his knees.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled.

Kokuto flashed stepped over to her and I scrunched up in pain.

"Don't make a fuss." Kokuto said as he held Rukia in and armhold. "We're just getting started." He said and looked off into the distance. "Can you hear it, Ichigo? The Kushannard have noticed that your reiatsu has changed."

"Ichigo." I said and stumbled to my feet while wrapping my arm over my stomach. Ichigo was still fighting but he looked like a Hollow, the transformation was almost complete. "Ichigo!" I said as the Kushunnard started to come out from the rocks.

"They're here to eat you, the person who tore up Hell!" Kokuto said as more appeared and he laughed maniacally. "Hurry up and turn into beast, Ichigo!"

"Ichigo! Listen to me! You can fight it! I believe in you Ichigo!" I said as I stumbled towards him.

"Do you want to be eaten by them? I don't really care either way. As long as you're here, you will be resurrected." Kokuto said. "As long as you don't completely destroy Hell itself, this cycle will continue forever!"

"Ichigo! Please!" I begged as I tripped over my own feet. "I know you can do it!" I said as the Kushannard started towards us. I crawled over to him as best as I could. "Ichigo! Don't ignore me! Stupid Strawberry!" I yelled. "Strawberry! Idiot!" I said trying to find everything I could that would snap him back and I had only one more thing left to say that might work. "Ichigo I... I-I love you!" There was silence.

"What's wrong?" Kokuto asked.

"Like I'd... give in." Ichigo said still in full hollow form. "I'm not going to turn into this." He said as he pulled off one of his horns. "Just because my feelings aren't enough, I have no intention of taking revenge!" He said as the hollow began to break off. "That's just... blaming your suffering on those around you." He said and stood up and almost fell but caught himself.

"Ichigo..." I said.

"By taking revenge, you're just running away from your suffering. I want to save my friends." Ichigo said as the Kushannards stood at the edges of the island. "But I refuse to sacrifice those around me for that!"

"Ichigo, run away!" Rukia said. "Ichigo!"

"That is how I will use my soul... to fight!" He said as the last piece of hollow broke off but there was a Kushannard towering over him. My eyes widen but I didn't know what to say, since it was also towering over me.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled as the hand came down. It barely missed to the point that I was staring at the fingertips. Then there was a golden light that came from under the hand.

"This is...!" I said as my eyes widen in excitement. This was probably one of my favorite forms of Ichigo and to see it in person would totally just blow me away.

"He's going on a rampage after all!" Kokuto laughed.

I shielded my eyes and tried to move away, but that didn't work too well. I can't crawl backwards.

"That's good, go ahead and destroy them all like that!" Kokuto said.

I watched as the light surrounded Ichigo and the armor started to form, the Kushannard disappearing. There was a huge wave of light and wind and it blew me away but he caught me, put me down, then cut Renji and Ishida chains. Then caught Rukia who also had been blown away by the gust of wind. All under a second. I stared at Ichigo in awe, the armor was shining and it was just epic.

"What... is that form?" Kokuto asked. "What did you do?"

"Kokuto, did your sister want revenge?" Ichigo asked.

"What did you say?" He asked in a low voice.

"Did your sister desire such a cycle of killing? You cannot fight hate with more hate. All you have done is to drag your sister into a never ending cycle of suffering!" Ichigo said and pointed his sword at Kokuto. "What my friends entrusted me with is not the desire for revenge." He said as he clenched his free hand. "Its the desire to stop you! Can you see it? Hell is clinging to would even go to the extent of helping an outsider like me, to prevent your escape!" He said as he began to glow with the yellow light/reiatsu.

"Hell is helping a human?" Kokuto asked. "That could never happen! You're the same as me!" He said and pointed his sword at Ichigo and charged.

"You're right. Just like you, I'm a human." Ichigo said calmly as he raised his sword above his head. "And a brother!" He said as he brought down his sword and a wave of the yellow reiatsu hit Kokuto, breaking his chains and almost pushing him off the edge. Kokuto staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his body.

"The chains are..." Kokuto said as he looked at his wrist which no longer held a cuff onto it. "I'm free... Finally, I'm free!" He said as he threw his hands into the air and laughed. The ground started to shake and from the ground thousands of chains shot out. They all headed towards Kokuto and wrapped around him. "No!" He yelled as they fully covered his body.

"This is your punishment for your sins, while trying to escape from hell!." Ichigo said. "Kokuto! You will spend eternity repenting for your evil deeds." He said as he began to glow again and pointed his sword at Kokuto. The chains lit up with a pink and bluish reiatsu as Kokuto let out a yell of agony. The ground swallowed him whole and the ground collapsed. Ichigo grabbed both me and Rukia and flashed stepped on top of the skull and set us down gently. Luckily, the scarf managed to stay on, how exactly, I don't know but it did. The sky lit up and illuminated us. We looked over the valley of Kushannards that were bowing down.

"Hey, Rukia, you got your Shinigami robe back." I said. She looked at herself and noticed it as well. Then she looked up at Ichigo.

"I won." Ichigo said softly. "It's over." He said and looked down at his fist. He then let out a yell of victory and lifted his arms over his head.

"Calm down, Strawberry." I said as I patted his shoulder.

"Ichigo, you did it but you're not done just yet we have to find Renji and Uryuu." Rukia said as she looked around.

"Oh, that's right." Ichigo said as he put his arms down. "When the fight started I broke their chains and released them both. Where are they?"

"So, you're telling me you lost them?" I asked while raising an eyebrow, although, the probably couldn't see it.

"We're right here!" Renji said from under the rubble. "My whole body is sore." He said as he stood up.

"Mine too." Ishida said.

"Hey! Pineapple head! Four eyes!" I said and waved my hand in the air.

"You're that girl from earlier!" Renji said.

Ishida looked at me but knew that he should keep his mouth shut.

"Earlier? What are you talking about?" I said and looked off to the side. _"Hehe, oopsies, probably should've stayed quiet."_ I thought to myself.

"You were both rotting away." Rukia said. "What did you expect?"

"She has a point." I said with a shrug.

"Rotting?" Renji repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"Well..." Rukia said.

"Anyway, looks like its all over." Ishida said.

"Pretty much." I said.

"What happened to that guy, Kokuto?" Renji asked.

"He's gone. He was dragged down into the depths of Hell." Ichigo said.

"That's what he gets, breaking whatever it is that he broke in my stomach." I mumbled to myself.

"Heh, well, I guess that means you did win." Renji said.

"Uwah!" Renji and Ishida said in unison as they looked at Ichigo and stepped back.

"What's up with that outfit?" Renji asked.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked. "This? I'm not sure. I don't really get it either. It might be from them." Ichigo said as he looked at the armor then at the Kushannard. "I think they helped me." He said as Renji and Ishida climbed up onto the skull. "Does it look weird?"

"Oh it goes way beyond that. You're like the champion of weird." Renji said.

"Haha, champion of weird." I giggled.

"Your tailor must reside here." Renji continued.

"I'm not really surprised, Kurosaki, you're always on the cutting edge of things." Ishida said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Is it permanent or can you change back?" Renji asked and took a step towards Ichigo and Ichigo respectively took a step back.

"Wait, let me touch it." I said and poked at the armor. "Haha, it's so awesome!" I squealed. Everyone gave me a strange look. "I mean... it's okay." I said and looked away. Still fangirling on the inside.

"Well, I'm not sure, I guess I'll give it a try." Ichigo said.

"Huh? Try what?" I asked as I returned to reality after fangirling.

"Taking off the armor." Ishida replied.

"No! Wait!" I said but it was too late, the armor was off.

"What? Why?" Ichigo asked as he turned to me.

I hung my head in defeat. "That's why." I said and pointed at the Kushannard that were towering over us.

"Oh..." Ichigo said.

"That's not good." Renji said.

"Ya think?!" I said and looked up to see one of them raising their hand.

"RUN!"I yelled. We all took off running as fast as we could. I was kind of limping and Ichigo had to come back for me so that I wouldn't die. He carried me on his shoulder like a potato sack. "Run! Strawberry, Run!" I yelled as we sped through the several passages of Hell. Really hoping that we wouldn't die. In my mind, the theme was playing and that made me happy. We jumped over Kushannard's like crazy and did all we could. Eventually we reached the final level. "Guys!" I said.

"What?!" They yelled in unison.

"Look!" I said and pointed to the gates that were closing.

"Ahhhh!" We all yelled as we sped up in order to get out of here. There was a small opening with the circumference of about ten feet but we managed to squeeze out of there just in time. Then we fell to the ground. Luckily, Orhime put up her shield and caught us. We safely floated down and Chad was there too.

"Taco!" I said and waved my hand but regretted it. "Ow, ow, ow." I mumbled. but ignored it for the time being. We were floating to the ground, in slow motion! I just live the Hell Chapter! Pain can wait for later! I smiled like a total idiot. I was feeling pretty proud of myself

_"I went to Hell and back AND I can live to tell the story! I am officially ready to die."_ I thought. _"Well, if I die, I wouldn't be able to tell anyone... hehe... okay nevermind about the dying part."_

"Wait, who are you?" Rukia asked.

I took in a sharp breath. "Uhm... ah... AH! My spleen!" I faked and fell over on my side. _"Oh, I'm so dead."_


	3. Chapter 3

"You're an idiot." Ichigo said as he walked into the room.

"Good morning to you too." I said as I sat up.

"You're lucky Orhime was able to heal you in that short amount of time and you better be grateful that we were able to distract the captains." He said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I already said thank you!" I said as I puffed my cheeks out.

He chuckled ruffled my head. "You're welcome."

I stuck my tongue out at him. There was a bit of silence afterwards, it wasn't awkward, or at least I don't think it was.

"Thanks." He said.

"Thanks? For what?" I asked and tilted my head to the side a bit.

"For believing in me." He said and looked out the window.

"Uh, yeah, sure no problem..." I said not really getting what he was saying.

"While I was undergoing that hollowfication process I heard everything you said."

My eyes widened in a took in a sharp breath. "Everything?" I said in a higher pitch voice than I expected. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks and turned away.

"Everything."

"I... I just said those things so you would snap out of it." I said and crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't really believe in your power, most of the time..." I said in a matter of factly manor.

"Then look at me in the eyes and say that you don't love me." He challenged.

I began to mess with my shirt and kept my gaze locked on my shirt.

"W-why should I have to do that?" I stammered as my blush continued to deepen.

"Well, if you can't, then I'll just take it as a love confession." He said as he stood up.

"No, wait!" I said as I grabbed his arm. He looked at me with a smirk. I let go of his arms and looked away again. I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." He said and put a hand to his ear and leaned in a bit.

I mumbled the same thing under my breath again.

"Sorry, one more time." He said.

"I said I love you, okay!?" I said then realized what I just said. "I mean!"

He laughed and brought me into a hug. I felt my blush turn even redder, if that was even possible.

"W-what are you doing?" I stammered. He didn't respond but just hugged me tighter. I sighed and hugged him back. "I hate you, you know that?" I said.

"I hate you too." He chuckled as he let go of me and kissed my forehead. I looked away, again, in an attempt to hide my blush. It didn't work.

"I'm back!" Isshin called from downstairs. "I brought lots of things home." I decided to take this chance to escape. That didn't work either, I was bear hugged, again. "No one's home?"

"Ichigo." I said softly.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Love you too."


End file.
